identifying and dealing with online bullying
TRANSCRIPT
Developing effective policies and practices to combat Cyberbullying
A definition of bullying
What do you define as bullying?Key points:
• It is deliberate behaviour – with the intention of hurting someone• It can be done by one person, or by a group of people• It is repeated over time (it is not a one off incident)• There is a power imbalance
Government definition:“Behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over
time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.”
Cyberbullying
The use of digital technology (text messaging, email, social networking sites etc) to bully, harass or abuse someone.
What our young people are telling us about cyberbullying
Virtual Violence – Protecting children from cyberbullying – A Report from Beatbullying
A survey of over 2000 secondary aged children (11-16) revealed that:• 30% of those survey had experienced cyberbullying• 30% or 1 in 13 had experienced persistent cyberbullying
Some groups were identified to be more at risk than others...
Cyberbullying statistics and evidence
• 1 in 3 11-16 year olds cyberbullied (virtual violence 2009)• Concurs with wider findings from EU kids online which shows a third are
cyberbullied though this has reduced in the latest survey (2009)• 1 in 13 consistently cyberbullied (meaning over a period of years and or
months)• One third of children received ‘sexting’ mesages (mostly from peers)• SEN children 16% more likely to be cyberbullied• FSM children 13% more likely to be persistently cyberbullied• Girls twice as likely to experience cyberbullying• 48% overall admitted to being involved in cyberbullying at some point
Source BB Virtual Violence 2009
Cyberbullying statistics and evidence
• 6% of 9-16 year olds have been sent nasty or hurtful messages online, and 3% have sent such messages to others. (EU Kids online 2010)
• 21% of UK children say they have been bullied, 8% say it occurred on the internet (EU Kids ii – UK findings)
• 19% of 11-16 year olds have seen one or more type of potentially harmful user generated content rising to 32% of 14-16 year old girls. Most common are hate messages (13%)
• 12% have bullied others online (EU kids online ii – UK findings)• Representative survey of 8-19 year olds in the UK found that 10%
had reported cyberbullying (Eynon, 2009)
Migration theory of cyberbullying...
• 62% said that this was an extension of more traditional bullying
• 22% said it had been initiated via technology
• Three quarters said they knew who had sent the messages
‘Those at risk offline continue to be most at risk online’ (Palfrey et al)
Activity
Given we know that Cyberbullying exists (and there are indications that some groups are more likely to experience it than others) and is happening in the online context what policies, practices and procedures do you currently have in place in your various contexts? WBL/Colleges other post 16 contexts
Policies – AUP’s, behaviour policies, anti bullying policies – where does cyberbullying sit/where should it sit? Is it referenced?
Practices – what approach are you taking in terms of young peoples awareness of getting involved inadvertently in cyberbullying, training in developing positive online behaviour? What about staff? How are they educated about the risks? What kind of peer support exists?
Reporting functions – what do you have in place for young people to report cyberbullying?
Technical fixes – do you have monitoring/filtering in place? Is it localised or network level? What are the implications if YP bring in their machines?
The Model
Developing peer support and a culture of positive online behaviour
‘Talk to three people before you speak to your teacher’
The Model - CyberMentors
• People their own age who they can talk to • Cybermentors and Senior cybermentors• Acting as guides in helping them find a solution• An offline and online model• Develops a sense of online responsibility and digital citizenship• 24/7• Therapeutic interventions• Provides accessible help and support• Sends out a message to other young people and adults• Creates role models and creates peer activism• Skills up young people with problem solving skills• Builds self esteem
How does CyberMentors develop safe and responsible online behaviours
• CyberMentor training and programmes helps empower responsible thinking and management of online issues.
• Young people become aware of the effects of actions both online and offline, and as such incident numbers decrease
• Encouraging a more active and proactive role online in supporting others.
• Overall, 64% of mentees said they felt better after talking to a CyberMentor
• As bullying can progress from online to offline, and vice versa, it is a proactive technique in responsible online behaviour.
How does the programme help prevent and combat incidents of cyberbullying
• Gives practical advice and support to young people about how to manage their privacy online and how to act responsibly online
• Gives young people access to help and support if they have been or are being cyberbullied - access to confidential and anonymous support through the web site
• Independent evaluation (University of Sussex) shows that there is a reduction overall in bullying (which includes cyberbullying) – 28%-20%
• Raised awareness of the issue of cyberbullying in school and beyond with young people, parents and teachers
• Increased reporting of incidents of bullying • Develops online confidence and competence and creates peer
support• Demonstrating a 35% reduction in bullying overall and a 31%
increase in reporting
The CyberMentors Story (June 2011)
In 200 schools across the UK and mass trainings of upto 50 YP
Over 4320 CyberMentors have now been trained
Over 1278 senior cybermentors
Over 1,263,484 unique users have visited the website
Over 8000 young people requested to be trained
Over 800 requests for emergency help
Over 680,899 mentoring interactions
This presentation was part of the RSC East Midlands e-fair 2011“Becoming an agile learning
provider” for more information and to see all the resources go to:
http://moodle.rsc-em.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=227